Google consolidates AI teams under DeepMind to take on OpenAI
Google is merging its Gemini AI assistant app team with the DeepMind research lab in a bid to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) development. CEO Sundar Pichai revealed the move in a recent blog post that the company's goal is to simplify structures and "keep increasing the pace of progress" in AI development. The consolidation comes at a time when Google is facing intense competition from Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Amazon-funded Anthropic and other rivals in the AI race.
Prabhakar Raghavan named Google's Chief Technologist
Along with the team integration, Pichai also announced a major leadership change. Prabhakar Raghavan, the most senior leader of Google's search and ads units, will now be Google's Chief Technologist. Notably, he has also played a key role in leading core products such as Gmail and Drive. The appointment comes as the company continues to streamline its AI development process.
Google's AI consolidation strategy
Over the last six months, Google has been quietly merging its AI-focused teams. The goal is to improve the Gemini series models and take on competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. Back in April, the company moved its models, research, and responsible AI teams to the DeepMind division. This was followed by a merger of DeepMind with Google Brain, another research unit in the company.
